A.B. Original – Report to The Mist

The conclusions are clear.

When the Royal Commission provided their recommendations in 1991, they quoted “Aboriginal people die in custody at a rate relative to their proportion of the whole population which was totally unacceptable and which would not be tolerated if it occurred in the non-Aboriginal community. But this occurs not because Aboriginal people in custody are more likely to die than others in custody but because the Aboriginal population is grossly over-represented in custody. Too many Aboriginal people are in custody too often.”

But since the report, the proportion of adult prisoners who are Indigenous has doubled – 13% of the prison population then to 27% now. So while the rate of Aboriginal deaths in custody has gone down slightly (rate per 1000 people in prison) more Aboriginal people are dying in custody today than when the inquiry happened. And many in circumstances where the recommendations have been ignored.

Please visit reporttothemist.com for more details and talk about whats been ignored and swept up under the rug.